Strategies for extending the life of ATE systems for another 10 or 20 years

The proverbial question of how to increase the life of an ATE system for another 10 or 20 years is echoed in program meetings across the Aerospace industry daily. The fact is that the life spans for test and measurement equipment are undoubtedly expected to last longer than any other part of a program, even sometimes longer than the suppliers themselves or the employment of many technicians. The cost and time to extend the life of these systems can easily be greater than the cost of a new system when it was first manufactured, and that does not include the other unknowns such as the lack of documentation, knowledge bases, and just basic replacement parts. Upfront, carefully designed test systems help ensure high quality results and maximum throughput. Over time, drifting test results can affect quality, and equipment failures can cause extended downtime. In later years, changes in vendor support and parts availability add further challenges. However, program managers can rely on longer-term planning and strategies to mitigate such risks and keep programs running. This paper will address strategies that can reduce the cost of ownership and the risk of obsolescence, and extend the life of ATE systems. It will address how both upfront and on-going strategies can extend the on-going health of the ATE including accuracy, technology refresh, and up time. The two concentric strategies that this paper will explore are: 1. Upgrade the test system with new or newer instruments and software so that the support is readily available. 2. Extend the life of the test system by finding alternative methods of keeping the current configuration running at specified levels.